It’s good for Jackson to give his quarterback some confidence in his opening remarks as the team’s offensive coordinator. But questions persist about Dalton’s arm strength and ability to lead Cincinnati past the first round.

The thing about upside is that Dalton has just finished his third season as an NFL quarterback. You pretty much know what you’re going to get from him.

Jackson should start out his tenure as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator with Dalton in command of the offense.

But he should also have a backup plan in place in case Dalton continues to struggle, especially with turnovers. In 2013, Dalton threw for 4,296 yards and 33 touchdowns, but added 20 interceptions. That’s way too many.

The good news for Dalton is that he may have help in the future. Former coordinator Jay Gruden, who accepted the head-coaching job in Washington, was too quick to abandon the Bengals running game.

With Jackson, who was the team’s running backs coach before his promotion to offensive coordinator, expect that to change.

Jackson: "Our offense has to start with being physical. You have to be able to run the ball. Sometimes you have to dictate how to run it."

Making the Bengals more of a rushing offense could take some of the pressure off Dalton. It could help him become more efficient and limit turnovers.

If Dalton doesn’t show progress next season under Jackson, however, we won’t hear about the “upside” that Dalton has. Chances are, you’ll start to hear about how it’s time for the team to move on without him.